Pak govt and Imran's PTI sit together to break political unrest

Islamabad: There appears to have been a major breakthrough in relations between Pakistan's ruling coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and its arch rival, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The two opposing parties have begun table talks with hopes of ending the current political unrest in the country through finding mutual grounds of agreement.

The first round of formal talks between the two sides took place on Thursday in which, designated delegations from both parties sat across the table at Parliament House in Islamabad.

The decision to have table talks is being seen as a major breakthrough and first positive step from both sides to put an end to the persisting political chaos in the country, which is directly impacting the economically challenged position of the country.

As per details, both sides discussed in detail and put forward their demands to each other, seeking to develop a consensus on holding elections in the country in one go. The meeting lasted for at least two hours and would be taken forward in the following session on Friday, sources confirmed.

The PDM delegation comprised Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ayaz Sadiq, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, former Prime Minister and senior leader of Pakistan People Party (PPP) Senator Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Khishwar Zahra from Mutahidda Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P).

On the other hand, the PTI delegation comprised former Foreign Minister and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Ali Zafar.

Sources confirmed that the Opposition delegation has asked the ruling government to hold early elections in the country, insisting that if it does so, the issue of having provincial polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab before the general elections for the National Assembly and Sindh and Balochistan would be sorted out.

They also confirmed that PTI has proposed July to hold early general elections in the country in one go.

The PTI had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies in January, in an attempt to assert pressure on the ruling federal government to call early general elections in the country.

However, it failed to achieve its desired outcome as the 90 day period for the caretaker setup in both provinces has lapsed and despite the intervention of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP), the elections in both provinces have not been held.

The PTI team also took the position team that as per the orders of the Supreme Court, elections in Punjab province are supposed to be conducted on May 14, adding that the date could be extended if the government would give a date of dissolution of the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Balochistan.

The government delegation on the other hand, maintained that elections could be held in August or September, highlighting that the decision to give a specific date would only be done after consultation with the allied parties' leadership.

Analysts say that both sides have shown flexibility, increasing hopes of given space to each other's pointers and giving way to hopes of holding elections across Pakistan on a single date.

"The difference is only of a month or a month-and-a-half. The main thing is how much flexibility the government shows in giving a date for the dissolution of the assemblies and holding of elections," said a source who was present at the meeting.

At the moment, the government and the Election Commission are supportive on holding elections in October this year.

The government maintains that holding polls in different dates would lead to chaos, unrest and a security level challenge, adding that the country's financial situation does not allow it to spend billions on holding two elections in one year.

(Based on IANS feed with minor edits)